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Apollo-class cruiser
Apollo Class: Cruiser Operators: Commonwealth Royal Navy, Republican Navy Mass: 1,518,091 tons Cost: 11,588,010,537 talents Engines: :Right Engine Rating (46,000) :Left Engine Rating (46,000) Thrust: 2 Weapons: :Type (Location) ::C Spinal Mount (F) ::50 22.5/15 (F) ::100 30/15 ® ::100 30/15 (L) ::100 22.5/15 ® ::100 22.5/15 (L) ::100 22.5/15 ® ::100 22.5/15 (L) ::10 22.5/20 ® ::10 22.5/20 (L) ::50 22.5/15 (A) Fighters: 72 at 300 tons (1 Group) Small Craft: 8 at 1,000 tons Cargo: 10,000 tons Crew: 1,333 Passengers: 100 Marines: 100 Overview In 6792 things were looking pretty grim for the Commonwealth Armed Forces. They had just been pushed out of the Medina Grand Dukedom, and just one year before TOG had taken control of the Mission Stars Grand Dukedom. In early 6793 the Commonwealth High Command put out the call for a new cruiser design that could stand up to any existing TOG design. Speed was of minor importance. Coventry Armaments won the contract. As all ship designers know, triple engines are more efficient than single or double engines because of the space and tonnage saved. Unfortunately, the largest producer of small starship engines had been captured in Medina Grand Dukedom. Lacking smaller engines, the designers at Coventry took two larger battleship-class engines and mounted them in the Apollo. When the Coventry designers could not turn up a suitable missile system for the cruiser, they decided not to mount one. Capabilities The Apollo-class cruiser is one of the older designs in the Commonwealth inventory. Using spare battleship engines, the cruiser has respectable thrust and plenty of power for weapons and shields. The original design specifications called for a Type B spinal mount and a large missile system. For two months, Coventry investigated possible sources of the missile system, all to no avail. Finally, the chief designer decided to give up on the missile system in favor of upgrading the spinal mount to a Type C and enhancing the bay weaponry. The broadside weaponry consists of one 100-gun 30/15 laser battery, two 100-gun 22.5/15 laser batteries, and one 10-gun 22.5/20 laser battery per side. The destructive power of one of the broadsides is enormous. The Apollo also carries one 50-gun 22.5/15 laser battery forward and aft. The anti-fighter/anti-missile weaponry is excellent, able to defeat most attacks within 225 kilometers. The shielding is also very good, provided by six 2,700-ton generators manufactured by Coventry Armaments. The Apollo carries 12 squadrons of fighters for additional firepower. The finest electronic suite was installed to make up for some of the improvisations. After several of the Apollo-class had come off the assembly lines, they were grouped together and sent into the fracas around the planet Chase, the target for a TOG invasion fleet. The naval commander in charge of the defense of Chase formulated a brilliant, but risky plan. Using the heavily armed, but slower Apollo-class cruisers to lure off the TOG naval elements guarding the invasion fleet, he assigned the faster Commonwealth vessels to surprise the TOG forces from behind. In their shiny new cruisers, the Commonwealth commanders prepared to do battle. Seeing the small groups of new cruisers, the TOG commander assumed that these would be highly maneuverable and lightly armed. He assigned most of his ships to disperse in an attempt to catch the cruisers. Just as the battle was beginning, the faster elements of the Commonwealth swept in and destroyed a sizable portion of the TOG transports and support ships. Unable to catch the swift Commonwealth raiders, the TOG commander took out his frustrations on the unlucky Commonwealth decoy force. Unfortunately for the TOG commander, his surprises for the day were not over. Instead of crushing lightly armed ships, he ran right into the first operational deployment of the Apollo Class cruiser. As the battle raged around him, the TOG commander, knowing that he had lost both this battle and the planet, destroyed his own ship, taking one of the new Apollo-class cruisers with him. Deployment The Apollo-class cruiser can be found in most Commonwealth and Renegade fleets along the TOG-Commonwealth border. It is a favorite ship for newly promoted cruiser officers, as it is extremely durable and forgiving. The recent economic crunch has reduced orders for the Apollo Class in favor of newer and cheaper designs. Category:A to Z Index Category:Ships Category:Cruisers Category:Commonwealth Ships Category:Republican Ships